The X Prize foundation, best known for launching the private spaceflight industry, launches a $1.4 million oil clean-up challenge.

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Rescue teams in north-east China are working to retrieve 3,000 barrels of chemicals washed into a major river, state media say.

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The cheetah, eradicated in India by hunting nearly a century ago, will run again in the country, as three sites are earmarked for its reintroduction.

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The amount of plankton in the oceans has declined markedly over the last century, with warming identified as a cause.

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Having good friends and neighbours appears to boost survival chances by 50%, say researchers.

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The characteristic koalas, kangaroos and wombats of Australia share a common American ancestor, according to genetic research.

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The number of UK scientific experiments involving genetically modified animals overtakes those involving “normal animals” for the first time.

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BP says it is setting aside $32.2bn (£20.8bn) to cover the oil spill clean-up costs, as it posts record losses of $17bn.

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Freshwater coastal wetlands are more vulnerable to erosion during hurricanes than habitats with higher levels of salinity, a study suggests.

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Ships involved in the effort to secure the Gulf of Mexico blown-out oil well are preparing to resume work after a tropical storm weakens.

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Chinese engineers are considering a new super-powerful engine for the next generation of space rockets, say officials.

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An acrid fog from forest and peat fires blankets Moscow, as the Russian capital swelters in a record heat wave.

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An underground experiment designed to search for dark matter could go even deeper in search of the elusive cosmic “stuff”.

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The US Senate will not pass a full climate bill in its current session because Democrats cannot secure the required votes, says majority leader Harry Reid.

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Iran begins research aimed at developing a nuclear fusion reactor – an ambition that has proved elusive to physicists for decades.

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The public is asked to help track the UK’s butterfly populations as conservationists warn many native species are in serious decline.

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Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have seen several candidates for the heaviest elementary particle known to science.

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The record-breaking Zephyr unmanned solar-powered plane touches down in Arizona after two weeks of non-stop flight.

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Dozens of ships are ordered to leave the site of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as Tropical Storm Bonnie gathers pace.

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A researcher at Cardiff University scoops £1.1m to study living cells in minute detail, which could help treat diseases like Alzheimer’s.

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A US “atom smasher” may get three more years of life in order to continue its hunt for the so-called God particle.

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Scientists have detected carbon buckyballs – the largest molecules ever seen in space – in a cloud of cosmic dust surrounding a distant star.

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Archaeologists discover a second henge at Stonehenge, described as the most exciting find at the site in 50 years.

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The European Space Agency is to call upon scientists to come up with ideas for the next great space mission.

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The most massive star ever seen has been observed by an international team using the Very Large Telescope facility in Chile.

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